Floor sweeper having auxiliary brush for sweeping in corners



Feb. 26, 1957 E. D PARKER ET AL 2,782,434

FLOOR SWEEPER HAVING AUXILIARY BRUSH FOR SWEEPING IN CORNERS Filed Feb.'7, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l I h I JNVENTOR. F1 1. 5 51m ,6. 5 M Zfmf 41:a.

rn gov/1574M Feb. 26, 1957 E. D. PARKER ETAL 2,782,434

FLOOR SWEEPEIR HAVING AUXILIARY BRUSH FOR SWEEPING IN CORNERS Filed Feb.7, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FLOOR SWEEPER HAVJN G AUXILIARYBRUSH FORSWEEPING IN CORNERS Edwin D. Parker and Earl E. Stelzer, Springfield,Ohio, assignors to Parker Sweeper Company, Springfield,

Ohio, a corporation ofOhio Application February 7, 1952, Serial No.270,321

2 Claims. (Cl. -49) The present invention relates to floor sweepers.This application is acontinuation-impart of our co-pending applicationSerial No. 128,402, filed November 19, 1949, and nowaban-doned.

One of :the principal objects of this invention is to provide' a floorsweeperrwithan auxiliary 'sweeper'm'ounted forwardly. ofth'e mainsweeper, so that. the auxiliary sweeper operates upon the floor at thewalls: andlcorners' of a room.

Another obiect is. the provision of a sweeper 'ofthis character; with anauxiliary sweeper'so arranged 'to throw debris away from walls andcorners and into the path of the main sweeper.

APiurther: object is the provision of'a sweeper, having a .ma'insweeperand anaadjusta'ble auxiliary sweeper which is supportedvfor easy andquick adjustment to obtain propercontact between the sweeping elementsand the floor.

Further objects and advantages of the present inventionwill be apparentfrom the following description, reference'being had to the accompanyingdrawings wherein a preferred form of embodiment of the invention isclearly shown.

In thedrawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a sweeperhaving an auxiliary brushattached, which is constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a top elevational view of the sweeper disclosed in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the sweeper;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken-on1line 44 of Fig. 2 throughthe housing that encloses the driving meansvf-o-r the auxiliary sweeper.Fig. 4 also showsthe auxiliary sweeping element in broken verticalsection;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the auxiliary sweeper and housing,displaying the side of thehousing that attachesto the main sweeperfirame;

Fig. 6 is a broken front elevational view, partlyyin vertical sectiontaken on line 66 of Fig. 4, displaying the means for adju'stablymounting the auxiliary sweeper to the frame of the main sweeper;

Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional View taken ontline 7-7 of Fig. 4through the auxiliary sweeping element showing the gear and pawlcomprising the clutchmechanism arranged to impart unidirectionalrotation to the auxiliary-sweeping element, and

Fig. 8 is a broken'horizontal sectional view taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 4through the auxiliary sweeping element as inFig. 7, showing the samegear and pawl, but in different positions relative to each other.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that theembodiment of the present invention disclosedin Figs. 1 .to 8 thereinmakes use of a main sweeper indicated generally at It The main sweeperconsists ofa frame formedf-rom tubular members 11 and 12, carried by apair of'wheels, mounted to the'rear of the :frame, one of which is shownat 14, and by a pair ofcastors 16 and 17, mounted to the front of theframe. The irame States Patent" 0 Patented Feb. 26, 1957 ice members-11and-12 also carry a main sweeping element 20 shown in Fig. 6, in theform of a cylindrical brush located horizontally in a position betweenthe rear wheels so that the brushingsurfa-ce operates on the floor.

Sweeping action is obtained by rotating the main sweeping brush 20in acounterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3, when the sweeper.is-m-oving in a forward direction. As the direction of rotation-of themain sweeping brush 20' is opposite the direction of rotation of thewheels supporting the sweeper, it is necessary to impart rotation to themainsweeping brush by driving gears lo cated in gear housings, one ofwhich is shown at 13 of Fig. 6. The gear housings 13 are attached to theirarne members 11 and 12 at each end of the main sweeping brushltl andadjacentto the rear wheels 14. Being so positioned, the housing 13encloses the gears by which rotation of the supporting wheels 4 impartcounter-directional rotation to the. main sweeping brushli).

When :the 'main sweeping brush .20 is rotated in the direction justdescribed, debris encountered by it will be cast tangentiallyv from thesurface:of the brush ion forwardly, direction :into receptacle 19provided with an open end to receive the debris.

For a more detailed description of the main sweeper, Letters Patent No.2,689,367, issued September 21, 1954, for Sweeper, should be consulted.

An auxiliary sweeping element indicated generally at 25, in Fig. 1,extends from the side of the main sweeper and projects forwardlywso thatit operates upon the floor at the walls and corners of the room. Theauxiliary sweeper consists of an arm 26, which is clamped to. the framemembers ll and 12:by apair of clamping brackets 27 and 28, Fig. 5.Thearmlo serves as the main structural frame work forsupporting theauxiliary sweeper 25 on the main sweeper 19. Ann 26, in addition, provides ahousing for the driving means of the auxiliary sweeper.

Referring particularlywto the clamping brackets 27 and 28, shownin Fig?5, it is seen that they are of two piece construction adapted to graspthe tubular frame members 11 and 12. Clamping force is applied to theclamping brackets 27 and 28' by the bolts and nuts and 86. These boltsandnu'ts also serve to attach the clamping brackets 27 and'Zd-to the arm26. Although clamping brackets'are show-n herein as a means forremovably attaching .the arm 26 to the frame members 11 and 12,'applican'tdoe's not wish to limit his invention thereby, as

the arm 26 can well b'e'bo-lted directly to the frame members 11 and 12,thereby eliminating the clamping brackets 27 and 28. Itis'd'esirablethat the auxiliary sweeper 25 be readily adjustable in a' verticaldirection to provide for proper floor contact. To provide this feature,arm 26 is 'pivotallym'ounted-to the'mai-n sweeper 10 by bolt and to movevertically up and down along the axis of a cooperating externallythreaded element 89, the latter being pivotally mounted to the arm 26,so as to be manually rotatableby the handle 96. The threaded elements88' and 89'ju-st'described,are shown and set forth so that theinternally threaded element 88 ismounted to the main sweeper'lii and theexternally threaded element-89 is mounted-to the arm 26. Applicants donot wish-to limit their invention thereby, as the threaded elements 33and 90 could be interchangeably mounted, without departingfrom'thespirit of applicants invention. For example, externally threadedelement 89 could be mounted to-the mainsweeper 10 so adapted that itscooperation with internally. threadedelement 88, mounted on arm 26",would allow vertical adjustment of the auxiliary sweeper 25.

Referring particularly to Fig. 4, the method for mounting and drivingthe auxiliary brush 25 is clearly shown. Within the arm 26 at itsforward end, two webs 30 and 31 are horizontally formed to providemounts for the bearings 33 and 34, which in turn carry the rotatablymounted shaft 32. A bearing liner 35 with felt seals 36 mounted at eachend thereof serve to confined grease to the bearings.

Keyed to the shaft 32, vertically below the lower grease seal 36, is aV-grooved pulley 41 driven by a V-belt displayed at 81 in Fig. 3.Assembled on shaft 32 vertically below the pulley 41, is a guard plate45 rotatably mounted on bearing 46, and provided with rubber bumper ring47. Normally the guard plate 45 is free of rotation, as no motion can beimparted to it by the rotation of shaft 32. Upon contacting a wall,however, guard plate 45 is free to roll along the Wall while the sweeperis being moved forwardly or rearwardly, and thereby, marring of the wallis prevented.

Assembled on shaft 32 vertically below the guard plate 45 is a brushplate 51 having its circumferential edge 53 flared downwardly andoutwardly to provide a mount for holding brush 52 at the desired angle.The upper ends of the fibers 54 of brush 52 are clamped between brushplate 51 and clamping ring 56. Clamping force is applied by thetightening of screws 57, which fasten the clamping ring 56 to the brushplate 51. Brush plate 51 is formed with a partially hollow central hub61. This hub is recessed to receive the clutch mechanism shown generallyin Figs. 7 and 8.

The clutch mechanism is adapted to transmit unidirectional rotation fromthe shaft 32 to the brush plate 51, and consists of a driving pawl 71,in the form of a pin, carried by hole 72 in shaft 32, said pawl beingadapted to drive gear 63, thereby rotating brush plate 51 to whichdriven gear 63 is rigidly mounted.

Referring particularly to Fig. 7, the pawl 71 is shown engaging gear 63in the driving position. As shown, any clockwise rotation of shaft 32will be imparted to the brush plate 53. The gear and pawl assume thisconfiguration when the main sweeper is being moved in a forwardlydirection. Referring next to Fig. 8, the pawl 71 is shown in anon-driving position, said pawl being free to move in hole 72, is ridingfreely on the non-driving side of the tooth gear 63, in the nature of afollower riding on a cam. This latter configuration, shown in Fig. 8,occurs when the main sweeper is moved rearwardly so thatcounterclockwise rotation is imparted to shaft 32. In such instance theauxiliary brush is not rotated, and therefore debris cannot be thrownaway from the path of the main sweeper.

Below the brush plate hub 61 a washer 75 is held in place by a splitspring retaining ring 76, which engages around shaft 32 at its lowerend. Said washer covers the hollow recess in hub 61 wherein is locatedthe clutch mechanism set forth above.

Referring to Fig. 6, the driving wheel 14 carries a V- pulley 82, whichin turn carries a V-belt, best seen at 81 in Fig. 3. The driven V-pulley41, shown in Fig. 4, also carries V-belt 81, so that rolling of thewheels 14 along the floor transmits motion through the cooperating beltand pulley system, thereby imparting rotation to auxiliary brush 25. Forexample, in operation of the sweeper, its forward motion rotates thesupporting wheels 14. The driving V-pulley 82 rotates the drivenV-pulley 41 as they carry a. cooperating V-belt 81. V-pulley 41 rotatesshaft 32 by which it is carried. Shaft 32 imparts its rotation toauxiliary brush 25, as pawl 71 is engaged to drive its cooperating gear63. Assume that the sweeper is being moved adjacent and parallel to awall surface. Auxiliary brush 25 will then be sweeping against the wall,casting debris tangentially away from the rotating auxiliary brush 25,and into the path of the main brush 20, which in turn picks up thedebris cast before it and discharges it into receptacle 19.

Suppose that the sweeper is being used to sweep an area not adjacent toa wall surface. It is at times necessary to move the main sweeperrearwardly over an area not yet free of debris. In such an instance, therearward rolling of wheels 14 will transmit rotation through theV-pulley system to shaft 32, but rotation will not be imparted toauxiliary brush 25, as the gear 63 and pawl 71 will be cooperating inthe override position, shown in Fig. 8. Therefore, no debris can be castaway from the path of the main sweeping brush 20.

Suppose for instance, bristles 52 of auxiliary brush 25 become worn fromusage, so that they no longer efliciently contact the floor. Theoperator can lower the auxiliary brush to achieve proper floor contactby turning handle on the externally threaded element 89, which co-actswith internally threaded element 88 to vertically adjust the auxiliarybrush 25 relative to the main sweeper 10 in a manner previouslydescribed herein.

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as hereindisclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood thatother forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claimswhich follow:

We claim:

1. In a floor sweeper of the type having a frame carried by front andrear wheels and carrying a main sweeper and debris receptacle, thecombination with said frame; of a housing lying alongside the frame andextending forwardly of the frame; a rotating brush lying forwardly ofthe frame; means for rotating said brush including a verticallyextending shaft journalled in the forward end of the housing, said brushbeing carried by the shaft, said means also including driving mechanismconnected with the shaft and extending rearwardly therefrom, saidhousing overlying said means; and means for adjustably attaching thehousing to the frame, said last means including a horizontally extendingpivot carried by the frame and on which the housing is mounted forswinging in a vertical plane, a vertically extending screw element and acooperating threaded element, said elements being spaced horizontally ofthe pivot, one of said elements being carried by the frame and the otherof said elements being carried by the housing.

2. In a floor sweeper of the type having a frame carried by front andrear wheels and carrying a main sweeper and debris receptacle, thecombination with said frame; of a housing carried by and lying alongsidethe frame and extending forwardly of the frame; a rotating brush lyingforwardly of the frame and rotatably supported by said housing; meansfor rotating said brush including a vertically extending shaftjournalled in the forward end of the housing, said brush being carriedby the shaft, said means also including driving mechanism connected withthe shaft and extending rearwardly therefrom, said housing overlyingsaid means; and means for adjustably attaching the housing to the frame,said last means including a horizontally extending pivot carried by theframe and on which the rear end of the housing is mounted for swingingin a vertical plane, a vertically extending screw element and acooperating threaded element, said elements being spaced horizontallyand forwardly of the pivot, one of said elements being carried by theframe and the other of said elements being carried by the housing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS483,833 Chase Oct. 4, 1892 1,129,118 Pereira Feb. 23, 1915 1,407,180Todd Feb. 21, 1922 1,507,317 Laberge Sept. 2, 1924 1,650,660 SimpsonNov. 29, 1927 2,283,229 Richards May 19, 1942

